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Brian Patrick Regan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MSgt. Brian Patrick Regan United States Air Force
Nickname(s)The Spy Who Couldn't Spell
Born (1962-10-23) October 23, 1962 (age 62)
New York City, New York
Service / branch United States Air Force
Years of service1980–2000
RankMaster Sergeant
UnitAir Force Intelligence Support Group at the Pentagon
Battles / warsGulf War

Brian Patrick Regan (born October 23, 1962, in New York City, New York) is a former master sergeant in the United States Air Force who was convicted of offering to sell secret information to foreign governments.[1]

Biography

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The booklet of contact information for consulates that Regan used to try to sell the information.

He was born October 23, 1962, in New York City, New York. His childhood has been characterised as a difficult one; due to having dyslexia and having an "odd" personality, he was frequently bullied and ridiculed by classmates and children in his neighbourhood.[2]

Espionage activity

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From July 1995 to August 2000, Regan worked as a USAF assignee at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in Chantilly, Virginia, and was a signals intelligence specialist.[3][4] He was forced into retirement in August 2000, having failed to accept an overseas deployment.[5] In October 2000, he was hired by TRW Inc., but brought back to NRO and monitored.[6] In 1999, he had begun downloading data from Intelink, and in total removed 20,000 pages, CD-ROMs and videotapes from NRO.[5] Regan's financial situation, a rift in his marriage, as well as the realization he would not be promoted again, eventually gave him the idea to commit espionage to make money.[7] According to prosecutors, he had credit card debts of $117,000 and wrote a letter to Saddam Hussein offering to sell intelligence material for $13 million. He also made similar offers to Libya and China.[4][8] He buried the majority of the stolen documents in several forests.[5]

The plot was first discovered in December 2000, when an informant from the Libyan Consulate in New York handed the FBI a series of letters.[9][5] The letters contained a letter written in a code Regan had created, as well as details on how to decode the letter, as well as code sheets.[10] Each envelope also contained aerial images taken by US satellites of military sites in the Middle East, as well as other imagery to prove he wasn't bluffing.[5] After narrowing the search down to Regan due in part to his dyslexia,[11] FBI agent Steve Carr and other investigators began investigating him in April 2001.[5] Upon his return to the NRO, cameras observed him using his work computer to again access Intelink files, with agents observing him taking notes.[12] In August 2001, Regan was arrested by the FBI at Dulles International Airport, preparing to board a flight to Zürich, Switzerland.[13] He was carrying classified documents and contact information for Iraqi, Libyan, and Chinese embassies in Switzerland hidden in his shoes.[3][12] In February 2002, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.[14]

Jury selection for the trial began in January 2003,[15][16] with potential jurors required to fill in questionnaires asking their opinions on crime, espionage, the September 11 attacks, and the death penalty.[17] Regan's lawyers had attempted to delay the trial due to the potential invasion of Iraq.[18] Prosecutors sought the death penalty, the first time it would have been used for espionage since Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by electric chair in 1953; the death penalty for espionage had been reinstated in 1994, but had not yet been sought on 10 prior occasions.[19][20] The prosecution called upon FBI code expert Daniel Olson to testify as to the secret messages Regan had attempted to send to Iraq and Libya; Olson described the code as "sophisticated".[21] Regan's attorney Jonathan Shapiro argued that the information Regan had used was "worthless" and described his actions as merely "bad judgment".[20][22] Lawyer Nina Ginsberg argued that no serious foreign power would have dealt with him.[23] The following month, Regan was found guilty on two counts of attempted espionage and one of gathering national defense information, but the jury declined to impose the death penalty.[24] He was acquitted of the charge of attempting to spy for Libya.[25] He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in March of that year.[3] Regan's wife Anette avoided prosecution for attempting to cover up his actions.[26]

Five months after the conclusion of the trial, FBI agents began searching for the classified documents.[27] Highly sensitive documents would be discovered in the states of Maryland and Virginia, with over 10,000 assorted papers, videos, and CD-ROMs found; two anonymous sources believed all the hidden material had been found.[28][29] He is currently incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute in Terre Haute, Indiana.[30] In 2016, journalist Yudhijit Bhattacharjee released a book about Regan and his capture titled The Spy Who Couldn't Spell: A Dyslexic Traitor, an Unbreakable Code, and the FBI's Hunt for America's Stolen Secrets.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (October 13, 2016). "The Spy We Forgot". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Martin, Michel; Wertheimer, Linda (19 November 2016). "How Misspellings Caught A Spy". NPR. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Life Sentence For Bid to Sell Secrets to Iraq". The New York Times. 21 March 2003. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  4. ^ a b "American Spy Cuts Deal, Gets Life". CBS News. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (26 October 2016). "The spy who couldn't spell: how the biggest heist in the history of US espionage was foiled". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Sources: Suspect Spied For Libya". CBS News. 24 August 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  7. ^ Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (18 March 2019). "The Hoarder Who Tried to Spy for Saddam". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Espionage case of former master sergeant in hands of jury". CNN. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  9. ^ Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (1 November 2019). "How the FBI tracked down 'the spy who couldn't spell'". CNN. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  10. ^ Locker, Ray (29 October 2016). "This would-be spy was no James Bond". USA Today. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  11. ^ a b Schneider, Harold (22 December 2016). "Treason the Easy Way". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  12. ^ a b Briggs, Johnathon E.; Gibson, Gail (25 August 2001). "Bowie man held as spy". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Former US airman on spy charge". BBC News. 25 August 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  14. ^ "US intelligence agent denies spying". BBC News. 15 February 2002. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Major US spy trial opens". BBC News. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  16. ^ Monaghan, Elaine (14 January 2003). "Spy trial starts". The Times. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  17. ^ Buncombe, Andrew (14 January 2003). "US prosecutors seek death penalty for former sergeant accused of spying". The Independent. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Retired Air Force Sergeant Accused of Spying Is Going to Trial". The New York Times. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  19. ^ Lumpkin, Beverley (17 January 2003). "Death Penalty for an Attempted Crime?". ABC News. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  20. ^ a b Sullivan, Laura (28 January 2003). "Spy trial opens, could result in death penalty". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  21. ^ "FBI Code Expert Testifies in Regan Espionage Case". Los Angeles Times. 6 February 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  22. ^ Murphy, Jarrett (3 February 2003). "Prosecutors: Accused Spy Wanted $13M". CBS News. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  23. ^ Burkeman, Oliver (22 February 2003). "Jury considers death for American spy". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Convicted Spy Dodges Death Penalty". CBS News. 29 March 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  25. ^ Monaghan, Elaine (21 February 2003). "US traitor who offered to spy for Iraq faces death". The Times. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  26. ^ Markon, Jerry (28 April 2003). "Coded Messages Add to Mystery Of a Failed Spy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  27. ^ Thomas, Pierre; Moritz, Risa (28 July 2003). "FBI Digging for Documents". ABC News. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  28. ^ "FBI digs up secret documents in spy case". CNN. 28 July 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  29. ^ Monaghan, Elaine (30 July 2003). "Would be spy's stolen data is recovered". The Times. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  30. ^ "Brian Patrick Regan". Locate a Federal Inmate. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
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